Dictionary Home »
Webster's New World College Dictionary » compound
compound
compound1 definition
com·pound (käm po̵und′, käm′po̵und′; kəm po̵und′; for adj.usually & for n.always, käm′po̵und′)
transitive verb
- to mix or combine
- to make by combining parts or elements
- to settle by mutual agreement; specif., to settle (a debt) by a compromise payment of less than the total claim
- to compute (interest) on the sum of the principal and the accumulated interest which has accrued at regular intervals interest compounded semiannually
- to increase or intensify by adding new elements to compound a problem
Etymology: ME compounen < OFr compon(d)re, to arrange, direct < L componere, to put together: see composite
intransitive verb
- to agree
- to compromise with a creditor
- to combine and form a compound
adjective
made of two or more separate parts or elements
noun
- a thing formed by the mixture or combination of two or more parts or elements
- a substance containing two or more elements chemically combined in fixed proportions
- a word composed of two or more base morphemes, whether hyphenated or not: English compounds are usually distinguished from phrases by reduced stress on one of the elements and by changes in meaning (Ex.: blackʹbird, blackʹ birdʹ; grandʹ-aunt, grandʹ auntʹ)
compound Idioms
compound a felony (or crime)
Etymology: < compound
to agree, for a bribe or repayment, not to inform about or prosecute for a felony (or crime): it is an illegal act
compound2 definition
com·pound (käm′po̵und′)
noun
- kampong
- an enclosed space with a building or group of buildings within it
Etymology: Anglo-Ind < Malay kampong, enclosure
Browse dictionary definitions near compound
Also Mentioned In